Eileen O'Higgins

Eileen O'Higgins is a Northern Irish actress. She trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. Her breakthrough role was playing a young pregnant woman in the play Hold Your Tongue, Hold Your Dead which led to a supporting role in the film Brooklyn (2015).

Early life

O'Higgins grew up in Castlewellan. She attended St. Malachy's Primary School and Assumption Grammar School in Ballynahinch, County Down. O'Higgins later studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff.[1][2]

Career

After graduating, O'Higgins starred in the BBC television miniseries adaptation Emma, and the television film Enid based on the life of Enid Blyton with Helena Bonham Carter (both in 2009). She then appeared in theatre productions including Alice Birch's And Then There Were Four Little Beats of Four Little Hearts on the Edge of the World at The Old Vic.[3] Her breakthrough role was a supporting role as a young pregnant woman in the play Hold Your Tongue, Hold Your Dead. A reviewer for The Harvard Crimson commented that her performance "conveyed an urgency... that was immediate and relatable".[4][5] Her appearance helped her to be cast in a supporting role in her first film Brooklyn (2015) which also starred Saoirse Ronan.[5] O'Higgins then appeared in the BBC television series My Mother and Other Strangers (2016).[6]

O’Higgins reteamed with Ronan in the film Mary Queen of Scots playing Scottish noblewoman Mary Beaton.[7]

In 2020, she appeared in the crime drama series Dead Still.[8]

Personal life

O’Higgins is best friends with fellow actress Saoirse Ronan,[9] whom she first met during the filming of Brooklyn in 2014.[5]

References
  1. "Castlewellan actress Eileen makes debut with cinema movie stars". Down Recorder. 28 October 2015.
  2. Lee, Jenny (26 February 2016). "Castlewellan's Eileen O'Higgins on her journey to the Oscars". The Irish News.
  3. "24 Hour Plays 2010". British Theatre Guide.
  4. McGlathery, Michael L. (30 September 2013). ""Hold Your Tongue" Speaks Out".
  5. Barter, Pavel (27 January 2019). "Eileen O'Higgins is ready to rule". The Sunday Times.(subscription required)
  6. "Eileen O'Higgins plays Emma Coyne". BBC.
  7. "History Scotland's exclusive interview with Eileen O'Higgins, who plays Mar". History Scotland.
  8. Michael Starr, "‘Dead Still’ gives look into creepy world of Victorian-era death photography". The New York Post, May 19, 2020.
  9. Horan, Niamh (25 August 2019). "'My best friend Saoirse Ronan is like family – she taught me so much' – RTÉ star Eileen O'Higgins". Irish Independent.
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